Hiked this very trails with a friend and his son on October 27th, about 2 weeks from my 61st birthday and it was GREAT. Will make this as my annual ritual to cleanse both my body and soul.

Just as we arrived at the trailhead around 6:15 AM, we saw a packed shuttle pull in and the trailhead was already packed! When we started the descent at 6:26 AM, the air was chill and the temperature was around 34F but started warming up as we descended. Getting to Phantom ranch was reasonably good and we made it in about 3.5 hours. Once down at the ranch, I had a peanut jelly sandwich, half a bagel and half a glass of the "world famous lemonade". I wanted to make sure that I was nourished but not overloaded! And then we rested for about 45 minutes; particularly lay flat on the bench to give my back and legs some rest.

Hit the Bright Angels trail around 11AM. The trail to the Indian gardens was completely exposed to the sun and was hot; in complete contrast to what the Rim was like! Since I had left my cap in the car, I had to take a couple of breaks along the way wherever I could find good shade. The boulders that were in the shade were really cold and offered a way to cool down my glutes. The creek at the entrance of Indian gardens offered cold water to splash on my face and neck to help me cool down further. Arrived in Indian gardens around 1 PM and took a good 30+ minutes rest and hit the trail again around 2pm. Kept the pace all the way but made sure that I didn’t push myself to the point of exhaustion. Made it to the trailhead at 5:40pm.

Based on my past hiking experience, I planned to carry as little as possible in my camelback. Since water was still available along the trail, I carried no more than a liter of water between Indian gardens and 3 Mile Resthouse and 1.5 Mile Resthouse and the Rim. I consumed only about 0.75 liters between each of those waypoints since the trail was mostly in the shade.